Manila Accuses U.S. of ‘Pressure’ Over Jailed Marine

By CARLOS H. CONDE
The New York Times
Published: December 22, 2006

MANILA, Dec.22 — The decision by the United States government to cancel a major joint military exercise with the Philippines has been met with reproof here, with critics denouncing Washington for allegedly putting pressure on Manila as it seeks to gain custody of an American Marine convicted of raping a local woman.

Adm. William J. Fallon, commander of United States forces in the Pacific, said on Thursday that he was canceling the joint military exercise — Balikatan, or Shoulder-to-Shoulder — scheduled for February because of Manila’s failure to turn over the marine, Lance Cpl. Daniel Smith, to American authorities.

A local court convicted Corporal Smith earlier this month of raping a woman at a former American military facility north of Manila in November last year. The United States Embassy has been saying that under the Visiting Forces Agreement signed by both countries, Corporal Smith should be in the custody of the American embassy while he appeals his conviction.

The United States ambassador, Kirstie Kenney told ABS-CBN television today that Washington was “disappointed” in the local court for refusing to yield Corporal Smith to its custody. She, however, emphasized that the marine’s conviction was not the issue — just his custody.

The court, in refusing to yield the serviceman, argued that Corporal Smith should remain in a Manila jail until both countries can reach an agreement on where he would serve his 40-year sentence.

A former senator, Wigberto Tañada, who is representing the rape victim in countering Corporal Smith’s appeal, said Washington’s cancellation of the exercises and its threat to suspend military aid “is just another way of putting pressure on the Philippine government.”

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U.S.-Philippines tensions flare over custody in rape case

American military exercise is canceled to show displeasure

By Thom Shanker
International Herald Tribune
Published: December 22, 2006

WASHINGTON: The United states has canceled a huge annual military exercise with the Philippines in a dispute over custody of a Marine lance corporal convicted of raping a local woman.

The commander of American forces in the Pacific, Admiral William Fallon, said he also would halt aid and reconstruction programs carried out by the American military in the Philippines until he was confident that the troops’ legal rights would be protected under bilateral agreements governing visiting U.S. forces.

“I’m not the judge of the guilt or innocence of the individual,” Fallon said. “The issue is only one of custody. I am responsible to our people in uniform. I have to have guarantees that I can trust their safety to an international agreement.”

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Philippines’ weak spot: disasters

By Carlos H. Conde
International Herald Tribune
Published: December 12, 2006

CAMALIG, Philippines: When Mayon, the volcano that looms over this town, spewed lava and volcanic debris earlier this year, Pio Nebres and other residents of nearby villages paid it little mind.

Why should they flee, he said, when they had survived more cataclysmic events in the past?

“We are used to them,” Nebres, 48, said of Mayon’s eruptions.

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Typhoon spells the end for some Philippine villages

By Carlos H. Conde
International Herald Tribune
Published: December 8, 2006

CULIAT, Philippines: “This used to be my garden,” said Erna Callo, pointing to a spot where dirty water was streaming only a few feet from her home. The concrete house now stands in two meters of black volcanic sand, peppered with pebbles and boulders, which roared into the village from the nearby Mayon volcano last week.

“She’s a beauty,” the 50-year-old homemaker said, gesturing at the volcano with its near-perfect cone, in Albay Province, southeast of Manila. “But she’s brought my community so much misery.”

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Albay: A desolate landscape

One child was happy that her doll “survived” the deluge of black sand and rocks from Mayon. (Click on image to view the slideshow)

I arrived in Albay yesterday, Dec. 7. On the plane, the view down below is depressing: vast swaths of land have been blackened by volcanic debris. And anywhere you look, you only see a brown and desolate landscape: trees have been stripped of their leaves, while the hills are barren.

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Opposition grows in Philippines to proposed trade pact with Japan

Dumping of toxins is point of concern

By Carlos H. Conde
International Herald Tribune
Published: December 7, 2006

MANILA: When the Philippines signed its first bilateral trade agreement with Japan this year, it was hailed by both governments as a milestone.

The pact opens up trade by lowering or removing tariffs on thousands of products from both countries, while easing barriers to bilateral investment and allowing Japanese employers to import more skilled Filipino workers, such as doctors and nurses.

Nonetheless, opposition to the accord, called the Japan-Philippines Economic Partnership, is gathering strength here, both among leftists who see the deal as tilted in favor of Japan, and environmentalists who say it could transform the Philippines into a dumping ground for Japanese toxic waste.

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U.S. Marine guilty in Philippine rape case

Conviction for rape revives calls for end to defense alliance

By Carlos H. Conde
The New York Times
International Herald Tribune
Published: December 4, 2006

Correction: In the story below, I wrote that the US Marine was sentenced to life imprisonment. This is wrong. His sentence, in fact, is “reclusion perpetua,” which means he would serve his sentence at least 40 years. “Reclusion perpetua” is commonly interpreted in the Philippines as life imprisonment — even by judges, so that the Philippine Supreme court issued an administrative order in 1992 admonishing trial judges to be careful not to confuse reclusion perpetua with life imprisonment.

MANILA: A Philippine court convicted a U.S. marine on rape charges and sentenced him to life in prison, ending an emotional yearlong case that tested Philippine-American relations and revived calls for the repeal of a controversial defense agreement between the two countries.

Three other U.S. marines accused of abetting and encouraging the assault were acquitted.

Lance Corporal Daniel Smith, 21, of St. Louis, Missouri, was found guilty of raping a 23-year-old woman in a moving vehicle at the former U.S. naval base at Subic Bay, north of Manila, after a night of heavy drinking in November 2005.

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A Pearl of a Getaway

Just 45 minutes away from Davao City, a cool haven awaits the harried urbanite.

By Carlos N. Conde
Newsbreak
Published: Dec. 4, 2006

TUCKED IN a cove in Kaputian, one of the Samal islands in southern Mindanao, the Pearl Farm Beach Resort is easily one of the country’s best vacation havens.

Although very near Davao City, which is just 45 minutes away by motorized outrigger boat, Pearl Farm gives no hint of urban living to the approaching first-timer. It’s the perfect getaway for the harried urbanite¯not too far from the city, yet its cool, blue waters and lush surroundings transport you to a different world you probably enjoyed only in your dreams. Or on your computer’s screensaver.

Pearl Farm complements its clear, blue sea and white sand with greenery that, from afar, forms a breathtaking backdrop on the main island. This alone differentiates it from many other resorts with their flat and monotonous vistas.

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Hundreds died in mudslides after Typhoon Durian hit the Philippines

By Carlos H. Conde
International Herald Tribune
The New York Times
Published: December 3, 2006

MANILA: Rescue workers in the Philippines began Sunday to bury hundreds of corpses in a mass grave after a typhoon loosened the slopes of a volcano in the northern province of Albay, sending mud and debris down the mountain.

The official death toll in the landslides triggered by Typhoon Durian stood at 406 Sunday, but officials warned that it would certainly climb and that there was little hope of finding more survivors. The Red Cross said more than 1,000 people had probably died in the disaster.

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A mother’s plea, a city’s madness

Clarita Alia lost three of her children to the Davao Death Squad. Her youngest is fighting for his life.

The voice on the other end was trembling. “Sir, I really need your help.” The voice — soft, slightly stuttering, but harrowingly sad — was one of the most heart-rending I’ve ever heard. “My son has been stabbed,” the woman said, weeping now. “We’re now at the DMC (Davao Medical Center) and we have no money for medicine, for food. Please have mercy on us.”

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Typhoon Durian triggers landslides in the Philippines

By Carlos H. Conde
International Herald Tribune
Published: December 1, 2006

MANILA: Strong winds and heavy rains accompanying Typhoon Durian triggered massive landslides in the northern Philippine province of Albay, killing 198 people, officials said Friday. At least 260 people are missing.

The landslides swept through at least three villages late Thursday near Mayon, the most active volcano in the Philippines and one of the country’s most famous tourist attractions because of its near-perfect cone.
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